Mpande's - University of Zululand Institutional Repository

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Mpande and his Council emphasised that the treaty of 1843 had left the
boundary open and they could not be persuaded otherwise.'"
At that stage the British authorities learnt that Mpande and the
Voortrekker representatives were negotiating about the area between the
Mhlathuze and Thukela Rivers with the purpose of granting the
Voortrekkers a free sea-passage."'"' This would connect Ohrigstad with St.
Lucia Bay and ensure an offensive-defensive treaty with Mpande. m On 3
September 1847 the British issued a proclamation whereby the whole area
proclaimed as Natal territory in 1845, remained as such. The
Voortrekkers living in the area would not forfeit their land claims,
provided they personally register their land properties in Pietermaritzburg
before 1 October 1847. 236
The contents of the proclamation came as a complete surpnse to the
Voortrekkers. J. Uys insisted that the British send someone to Klip River
to determine who had been outmaneuvered by the Zulu king - the
Voortrekkers or the British.'37 He argued that the Voortrekkers acquired
213
236
23;
M.M. Behn: The K1ip River Insurrection. 1847. (Unpublished M.A. Dissertation,
Natal, 1932), pp. 21.
EA Walker: The Great Trek, p. 363.
J.Bird: The Early Days ofNatal, p. 84.
C.O. 179/37, P.RO.: Proclamation - M.West and D. Moodie, 3 September 1847.
H.C. Lugg: Historic Natal and Zululand, p. 48.